Endurance Race Library
Fueling guides for the biggest endurance cycling events worldwide
Evidence-based, performance-focused fueling guides for serious amateur endurance cyclists — road, gravel, MTB and stage races across the United States, Brazil and Europe. Each guide covers course demands, carbohydrate and hydration strategy, common mistakes, and a race-day execution plan.
United States
11 guides
MTBUnited StatesLeadville Trail 100 MTB
The Race Across the Sky. 100 miles of high-altitude mountain biking above 10,000 feet.
Leadville, Colorado, USA≈ 12,000 ft (3,650 m) of climbing7 – 12 hours for most amateur finishersRead fueling guide- Stage RaceUnited States
Leadville MTB Stage Race
Three days, ~103 miles and a shot at an LT100 MTB qualifier coin — the full Race Across the Sky course, split into stages.
Leadville, Colorado, USA (start/finish Lake County Rodeo Grounds & Twin Lakes Dam)Low 9,209 ft (2,807 m) at Twin Lakes Dam · High 12,497 ft (3,809 m) at Columbine MineCumulative sub-11 h required for official stage-race finisher statusRead fueling guide 
GravelUnited StatesMammoth TUFF
2026 UCI Gravel World Championship qualifier — a high-altitude Eastern Sierra gravel race across volcanic tuff, pumice and pine forest.
Mammoth Lakes, California, USA≈ 8,000 ft (2,440 m) of climbing on the full TUFFEST route7 – 11 hours for most amateur TUFFEST finishersRead fueling guide
MTBUnited StatesMarji Gesick 100
Widely called the hardest 100-mile MTB race in North America. Technical, remote, unforgiving.
Marquette to Ishpeming, Michigan, USA≈ 12,000 ft (3,650 m) of climbing12 – 25 hours for most amateur finishers (sub-12 earns the buckle)Read fueling guide
GravelUnited StatesBig Sugar Gravel
The signature Ozark gravel event. Chunky limestone, steep punchy climbs, unforgiving descents.
Bentonville, Arkansas, USA≈ 8,000 ft (2,440 m) of climbing5.5 – 9 hours for most amateur finishersRead fueling guide
MTBUnited StatesLittle Sugar MTB
The MTB companion to Big Sugar. Fast, flowing Ozark singletrack with relentless punchy climbing.
Bentonville, Arkansas, USA≈ 5,000 – 7,000 ft (1,500 – 2,100 m) of climbing on the 504 – 7 hours on the 50 for most amateur finishersRead fueling guide
MTBUnited StatesFort Ord 50
Fort Ord 50 — 4 laps of a 12-mile / 1,353 ft loop across the Fort Ord National Monument on California's Monterey coast, produced by Repack Racing on August 30, 2026 as part of the California MTB Endurance Series.
Fort Ord National Monument, Monterey County, California, USA (near Marina, Seaside and Salinas)≈ 5,412 ft (1,650 m) — 4 laps × 1,353 ft per lap4 – 7 hours for most amateur finishersRead fueling guide
MTBUnited StatesCentral Coast Dirt 100
Central Coast Dirt 100 — a Repack Racing endurance MTB event at Lake San Antonio, Monterey County, on Sunday, October 18, 2026, with 30-mile, 60-mile solo and 60-mile DUO relay options on a 15-mile lap of fire road, doubletrack, singletrack and lakeside riding.
Lake San Antonio, Monterey County, California, USA (inland from the Central Coast, ~1 hour south of Monterey and ~1 hour north of Paso Robles)Rolling per-lap climbing on a 15-mile course of fire road, doubletrack, singletrack and lakeside sections — confirm the exact 2026 cumulative-climb figure on repackracing.com/central-coast-dirt-1005 – 8 hours for most amateur 60-mile solo finishers; 2.5 – 4 hours for 30-mile finishersRead fueling guide
GravelUnited StatesSBT GRVL
142 miles of Colorado ranch gravel from downtown Steamboat Springs — the flagship UCI Gravel World Series qualifier in the American West.
Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA — start/finish Yampa StreetBlack ≈ 9,500 ft (2,900 m) · Blue ≈ 7,600 ft (2,320 m) · Green ≈ 4,500 ft (1,370 m)Black: 7 – 13 h · Blue: 5 – 9 h for most amateur finishersRead fueling guide
GravelUnited StatesGravel Worlds
150 miles of rolling Nebraska gravel out of Lincoln — Lauf Gravel Worlds 2026.
Lincoln, Nebraska, USA10,000+ ft (3,050+ m) of climbing on the 1508 – 15.5 hours for most amateur finishersRead fueling guide
Stage RaceUnited StatesRebecca’s Private Idaho 2026
Sun Valley’s flagship gravel + MTB race week — Harriman singletrack, Dollarhide TT and the new Baked Potato and Fully Loaded routes.
Sun Valley / Ketchum, Idaho, USA — hubs at Limelight Hotel (Ketchum), Baker Creek, Rotary Park, Champion Meadows and Forest Service ParkBaked Potato 6,902 ft (2,104 m) · Fully Loaded 7,779 ft (2,371 m) · French Fry 3,974 ft (1,211 m) · Tater Tot 1,325 ft (404 m) · Harriman 3,132 ft (955 m)6 – 12 hours for most amateur Baked Potato finishers on SaturdayRead fueling guide
Brazil
7 guides
Stage RaceBrazilBrasil Ride Paraíba
Brasil Ride Paraíba 2026 — sete dias de mountain bike ultramaratona no Nordeste brasileiro, com base em João Pessoa e etapas na Serra da Raiz.
João Pessoa & Serra da Raiz, Paraíba, Brazil≈ 8,000 m of total climbing4 – 8 hours per stage, over 7 daysRead fueling guide
Stage RaceBrazilBrasil Ride Espinhaço
Brasil Ride Espinhaço 2026 — MTB stage racing across the ancient Serra do Espinhaço in Minas Gerais, with quartzite singletrack, cerrado fire roads and long high-altitude days.
Serra do Espinhaço, Minas Gerais, Brazil≈ 8,000–10,000 m of total climbing4 – 7 hours per stageRead fueling guide
Stage RaceBrazilBrasil Ride Pirenópolis
Brasil Ride Pirenópolis 2026 — two-day MTB stage race in the Goiás cerrado around historic colonial Pirenópolis: quartzite ridges, waterfall singletrack, dry-season heat and August 22–23 racing.
Pirenópolis, Goiás, Brazil (Serra dos Pireneus / colonial historic center)3,200 m total (Stage 1: 1,860 m · Stage 2: 1,340 m)3 – 5 hours per stage for most amateur finishersRead fueling guide
RoadBrazilL'Étape Campos do Jordão by Tour de France
The official Tour de France gran fondo in the Serra da Mantiqueira — long paved climbs, altitude and cold-morning starts in Brazil's 'Swiss' highlands.
Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil (Serra da Mantiqueira, ~1,600 m / 5,250 ft altitude)2,300 m (7,545 ft) long · 1,300 m (4,265 ft) short4 – 7 hours for most amateur finishers on the long courseRead fueling guide
RoadBrazilGFNY Bento Gonçalves
GFNY Bento Gonçalves 2026 — the Brazilian round of the global Gran Fondo New York series in the Serra Gaúcha wine country, with mass-start gran fondo racing, punchy vineyard climbs and GFNY World Championship qualification for the top 10% of every age group.
Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (Serra Gaúcha wine country, ~120 km northeast of Porto Alegre)≈ 1,800–2,800 m of climbing on the Gran Fondo3.5 – 6.5 hours for most amateur finishers on the Gran FondoRead fueling guide
MTBBrazilIron Biker Brasil
Latin America's oldest and most traditional MTB marathon — since 1993, held every September in the historic iron-mining mountains around Mariana, Minas Gerais.
Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil (Vale do Ouro region, ~120 km southeast of Belo Horizonte)≈ 2,000–3,500 m of climbing on the main marathon4 – 8 hours for most amateur finishers on the marathonRead fueling guide
Stage RaceBrazilSertões MTB Ibitipoca
A three-day mountain-bike marathon at the Ibiti Projeto reserve — rocky singletrack, sand and long climbs on the edge of Serra do Ibitipoca, and the deciding round of the Sertões MTB Cup.
Ibiti Projeto, Lima Duarte, Minas Gerais, Brazil (Serra do Ibitipoca region)≈ 3,500–4,000 m cumulative (up to 1,700 m in a single stage)1.5 – 4 hours per stage for most amateursRead fueling guide
Europe
5 guides
GravelEuropeThe Traka
Girona's flagship gravel weekend — long days on Catalan farm roads, cork-oak forests and relentless rolling terrain.
Girona, Catalonia, Spain (start/finish typically Sant Feliu de Guíxols or Girona city centre — confirm current year)≈ 1,500 / 3,000 / 5,500 m of climbing across the flagship distances4 – 20+ hours depending on distance and categoryRead fueling guide
GravelEuropeBadlands
Badlands — a 750 km self-supported ultra-gravel race across Andalusia, from Granada through the Sierra Nevada and the Gorafe desert to the Almería coast, held late August each year.
Andalusia, Spain (Granada → Sierra Nevada → Gorafe → Almería coast)≈ 15,000 m (49,000 ft) of climbing3 – 6 days for most finishers; leaders sub-3 daysRead fueling guide
RoadEuropeÖtztaler Radmarathon
One of Europe's hardest one-day gran fondos — four Alpine passes, ~5,500 m of climbing, and cold high-mountain descents from Sölden.
Sölden, Ötztal Valley, Tyrol, Austria (start/finish at Freizeit Arena Sölden)≈ 5,500 m (18,000 ft) of climbing8 – 13 hours for most amateur finishers; sharp end sub-8 hoursRead fueling guide
RoadEuropeMaratona dles Dolomites
The iconic Dolomites gran fondo — seven passes, closed roads and pale-limestone alpenglow.
Alta Badia, Dolomites, Italy≈ 1,780 / 3,090 / 4,230 m of climbing4 – 10 hours depending on routeRead fueling guide
Stage RaceEuropeSwiss Epic
A five-day pairs-format Alpine MTB stage race — high-altitude singletrack, glacier valleys and Grisons cantons stitched into one week.
Swiss Alps — canton of Grisons in recent editions (Davos / Lenzerheide / Klosters / Arosa host rotation)≈ 12,000–14,000 m cumulative climbing across the week4 – 8 hours per stage for most amateur finishers; leaders sub-4 hRead fueling guide